Home/Sport/ North Dakota State avenges loss to James Madison to win FCS championship

North Dakota State avenges loss to James Madison to win FCS championship

Jaime Goodwin |Monday, January 08, 2018

The JMU football team is on the practice field in Frisco Texas

Top-seeded James Madison (14-0) faces second-seeded North Dakota State (13-1) Saturday at noon in Frisco, Texas, for the FCS championship, which the Dukes won past year.

Stick, the game's Most Outstanding Player, stuck to his word, and the following celebration was a familiar sight for fans in Frisco: North Dakota State has won six of the last seven FCS national championships, making North Texas somewhat of a second home.

The loss snapped James Madison's FCS-best 26-game winning streak dating back to September 2016.

It's not quite as cold as it was previous year in Texas, as the temperatures were in the high 40's on Thursday, and it's expected to be in the mid-50's on Saturday for the FCS national championship game.

Now North Dakota State is back in the finals, and looking to prove past year was a fluke.

The Bison, the Missouri Valley Conference champs and No. 2 playoff seed, built a 17-6 halftime lead, scoring twice off turnovers, and then desperately held on in the final 30 minutes after Marcus Marshall's 1-yard touchdown run early in the third. "We made too many mistakes".

On 4-and-16 from the 25-yard line, with defenders in pursuit and the game on the line, Dukes quarterback Bryan Schor heaved the ball into the end zone, but it fell harmlessly to the ground after it was tipped amidst a large gathering of players. "You play it to get into these games, and have these moments with your teammates, and it's going to be a great game". North Dakota State limited James Madison to 21 yards in the first quarter, and neither team conjured an offensive explosion until the Bison executed a near-flawless play-action pass with 4:14 left in the half. "He just said "Coach, don't worry, there will be no time left on the clock".

"We thought that look could be there", Shepherd said. It marked the first time all season the Dukes trailed by double digits. "Darrius was able to run underneath and get us in the end zone, and that was a huge play for us". D'Angelo Amos' 33-yard punt return to the Bison 33 set up the drive and Marshall capped it with a 1-yard run.

Defending national champion JMU will be taking on North Dakota State in the FCS Finals this weekend.

Senior linebacker Nick DeLuca missed that game because of injury, so he'd been waiting for over a year to get another shot at the Dukes.

Top-seeded JMU is trying to become just the fourth school ever to win back-to-back FCS championships.

Popular news

HP Recalls Laptop Batteries For Overheating Risk
The batteries were also sold as accessories or provided as replacements through HP, or an authorized HP Service Provider. Customers can visit HP's website to see if they were affected, and can get a free battery replacement .

Trump tweet sparks emergency government meeting in Pakistan
China is investing billions of dollars to help build a network of power plants, rail, road, and communications in Pakistan. He said the war in Afghanistan can not be fought in Pakistan and "we need to find a peaceful solution to the issue".

Freezing rain, sleet possible late Sunday
The precipitation was 0.4 inches of snow, pushing the January snowfall total up to 0.5 inches in the capital city. A wintery mix of freezing rain and snow is forecast for Saturday .

Salah wants to win CAF awards four times
In early 2017, the forward was the central figure for Egypt as they finished runners-up at the Africa Cup of Nations. Sadio Mane has cleared the air on a reported rift with Liverpool teammate, Mohamed Salah .

Falcons Flashback Friday: vs. Rams, 2004 Playoff
Mariota had 205 yards passing and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 22-yard strike to Eric Decker with six minutes left. They have had some impressive wins: Green Bay, Dallas, Seattle, New Orleans and to some degree Carolina at the end.

Dragons and Fantastic Beasts Await In Monster Hunter
The major title update will be heading into the game sometime in Spring 2018 and will include the fan-favourite monster Deviljho. Monster Hunter World is coming for PS4 and Xbox One this month, January 26, and Capcom is being pretty transparent.

Powerball jumps to $550M after no winning tickets sold
The current Powerball jackpot is the eighth largest, while the Mega Millions jackpot is the 12th largest, 6ABC reported . He hopes someone from Mason City or nearby will win the jackpot, because it will bring publicity to North Iowa.

Oakland Raiders to name Jon Gruden head coach on Tuesday
ESPN reported that Davis was in hot pursuit for Gruden with a persuasive offer that included an ownership stake in the Raiders. His last game with Oakland was the infamous "Tuck Rule" game during the 2002 playoffs that helped launch the Patriots dynasty.

Lalu sentenced to 3.5 years Jail in fodder scam
The case pertains to an alleged withdrawal of Rs. 89.27 lakh from Deoghar district treasury between 1994 and 1996. The court had acquitted six accused including former Bihar Chief Minister and JD (U) leader Jagannath Mishra.